If you’re choosing where to invest time and money to find readers (or communities), here’s how the major platforms stack up on how they work, cost, audience size, genre fit, and whether authors can promote books there.
1) Goodreads
What it is & how it works: The largest book-centric social network: track reading, join groups, review, run giveaways, and build an author profile
Founded: 2007
Users: Goodreads markets itself as the world’s largest reader site; it does not consistently publish a current member total on its About page
Cost: Reader/author accounts are free. Giveaways are paid: Standard typically $119 and Premium $599, with occasional sale pricing.
Author advertising: Goodreads discontinued self-serve display ads; promos now run through team-managed programs and paid Giveaways
Genre fit: Broad; active groups for nearly every genre.
2) BookBub
What it is & how it works: Email-first deals + discovery platform. Authors/publishers can buy Featured Deals (heavily vetted) and run BookBub Ads (CPC/CPM auction)
Founded: 2012
Users: BookBub says “more than 15 million people” get its deals
Cost: Ads are bid-based; Featured Deal pricing varies by genre/region and is listed publicly
Author advertising: Yes—core use case
Genre fit: Strong across commercial genres; romance, mystery/thriller, and SF/F excel.
3) The StoryGraph
What it is & how it works: A Goodreads alternative focused on mood-based recommendations, reading stats, and challenges. Hosts a live Giveaways (Beta) hub for publishers/creators
Founded: 2019
Users: Reported ~3.8M active users
Cost: Free core app; Plus is $4.99/month with extra features
Author advertising: No ad network; publishers/authors can list giveaways
Genre fit: Broad; discovery leans on mood/pace tags rather than pure genre.
4) Wattpad
What it is & how it works: Huge social reading platform for originals and fan-inspired works; serial publishing, comments, and community features
Founded: 2006
Users: ~90M monthly users
Cost: Free to post/read with optional paid tiers (varies by region).
Author advertising: Authors don’t “run ads” to readers within Wattpad; discovery is organic + platform-run programs.
Genre fit: Very strong for YA, romance, fantasy, web-serial-style fiction.
5) Royal Road
What it is & how it works: A home for web novels/serials; readers binge chapters and give feedback
Founded: Publicly positioned for years as a web-fiction hub (formal founding year not listed on the site).
Users/works: Google Play description says “over 50,000 free novels”; community forum estimates suggest a large catalog
Cost: Free to read/post.
Author advertising: Yes—self-serve Ads for Authors with impression-based packages via the campaign dashboard
Genre fit: Skews toward progression fantasy/LitRPG, SF/F, isekai
6) Archive of Our Own (AO3)
What it is & how it works: Nonprofit fan-fiction archive (no commercial advertising), run by OTW (
Founded: 2008
Users/works: ~9M registered users and ~15M works as of May 2025
Cost: Free.
Author advertising: No (noncommercial).
Genre fit: Fan communities across every imaginable fandom; also hosts original works in some cases.
7) Scribophile
What it is & how it works: Critique-exchange community using “karma” points earned by giving critiques; spend karma to post your own work
Founded: Commonly cited late-2000s; long-running.
Users: Large, active critique base; no official public member count.
Cost: Free Basic; Premium currently reported around $15/month with annual discount
Author advertising: No ad marketplace; promotion happens by building relationships and critique circles.
Genre fit: Strong for serious craft work in all genres.
8) NetGalley
What it is & how it works: ARC distribution to reviewers, librarians, booksellers, educators, and media; request/approve workflows with review tracking
Founded: 2008 (industry sources; NetGalley emphasizes services).
Users: Widely used in trade publishing; NetGalley does not publish a precise current total on the pricing page.
Cost: Pay-per-title listings are available to authors/publishers; e.g., $550 for a 6-month Digital Review Copy listing
Author advertising: Not “ads,” but paid placements (listings, spotlights) drive discovery within the community.
Genre fit: Broad; strongest for traditionally marketable categories and librarians/booksellers.
9) BookSirens
What it is & how it works: Indie-friendly ARC platform that recruits reviewers and delivers ARCs securely; claims 51,000+ reviewers & influencers
Founded: 2019 (commonly cited externally).
Users: See above claim; a support article also references performance data from a “community of 30,000+ readers” for review-rate math—likely a subset or historical figure
Cost: Mix of listing fees and per-reader charges; optional annual “Author Plan” for unlimited ARCs for two pen names
Author advertising: Functionally, yes—your listing promotes your book to matched readers; not a display-ad network.
Genre fit: Strong in popular indie genres (romance, mystery/thriller, SF/F).
10) Bookstodon (Mastodon/Fediverse)
What it is & how it works: A Mastodon instance (“server”) for bookish folks in the decentralized Fediverse. You create a free account on bookstodon.com and can follow/interact with readers/writers across Mastodon, not just locally
Founded: Community posts indicate it launched as a new instance in late 2022
Users: Public server directories show Bookstodon exists; one listing shows a very small active user count at the time of capture (directories can lag actual activity)
Cost: Free to join (typical of Mastodon).
Author advertising: No ad system. Promotion = posts, threads, hashtags, communities.
Genre fit: Broad but indie/literary-friendly; you can curate who you follow and join book clubs/hashtags.
Quick guidance
- For paid scale and sales spikes: BookBub Featured Deals + Ads (if your genre qualifies and budget allows)
- For organic community + long-tail presence: Goodreads + The StoryGraph (reviews, groups, challenges; giveaways for lift)
- For serials and fandoms: Wattpad, Royal Road, and AO3—each with distinct cultures and expectations
- For reviews that convert: NetGalley (trade channels) and BookSirens (indie price-point and speed)
- For open social without platform lock-in: Bookstodon (Fediverse)
Bottom line
If your goal is retail sales now, test BookBub Ads and a Goodreads or StoryGraph giveaway to seed reviews. If you’re building community and readership, pair The StoryGraph or Goodreads with a serial home (Royal Road/Wattpad) and use BookSirens to accelerate early reviews. Bookstodon is a smart, low-friction social add-on—post consistently and engage like a human, not an ad.
Note From the Editor
We would encourage any North Florida Writers who would like to Guest Post on this site or be a featured author on the North Florida Writers Tour website then please get in touch using our CONTACT US form. Our site has an excellent monthly Newsletter that contains exclusive content. Join in on the fun! CLICK HERE!
